A prominent environmental activist took the unusual road of not only blaming rising electricity costs squarely on renewable sources, but also for deriding the mainstream media for ignoring the connection. Michael Shellenberger, the president and founder of Environmental Progress, explained in a Forbes blog post Monday how the unreliability of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, is the main reason why electricity bills around the world have been getting higher. Despite renewable energy technology slowly becoming more affordable, Shellenberger notes, electricity costs are still rising because of the unpredictable nature of wind and solar. Both sources produce excess...

Indonesia seize luxury yacht Equanimity sought in 1MDB probe: Police JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia on Wednesday (Feb 28) seized a luxury yacht on the island of Bali sought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation linked to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “We have been inspecting the crew since yesterday and now we are taking action since we have received approval from the court to seize the boat,” Agung Setya, director of economic and special crimes at the Indonesia’s criminal investigation bureau, told Metro TV. Television footage in Indonesia...

The White House plans to withdraw Kathleen Hartnett White's nomination to head the Council on Environmental Quality, a White House official confirmed to CNN Saturday. Hartnett White, who would have overseen environmental and energy policies across the government, had described the belief in "global warming" as a "kind of paganism" for "secular elites" during a September 2016 interview on "The Right Perspective," an online conservative radio show. She has also said the goal of climate activists and the United Nations was an all-powerful, one-world government and "planetary management," KFile reported. President Donald Trump announced Hartnett White's nomination in October and...

Just days after US President Donald Trump called for further isolation of Iran, a Norwegian solar company signed a deal Tuesday to invest €2.5 billion in the country over the next five years. “Norway is fully committed to the JCPOA (nuclear deal), and this is proof that we have taken the opening very seriously, and we will see more investment very soon,” Norwegian ambassador Lars Nordrum told AFP. He was hosting the signing at his Tehran residence between Norway’s Saga Energy and Iran’s Amin Energy Developers, who will work together to install two gigawatts of solar panels in multiple sites...

In 2001, Colorado electricity consumers enjoyed some of the lowest electric rates in the country. The 15 years since haven’t been so kind to ratepayers. For more than a decade, elected officials, PUC commissioners, industry and advocates have told Colorado ratepayers that they could transform the state’s electricity generation away from coal and toward industrial wind, solar and natural gas with little cost to ratepayers. However, the actual numbers tell a much different story. Colorado electricity rates have risen sharply – 62.1 percent – across residential, commercial and industrial sectors, despite a slight decrease in recent years. Colorado electricity rates...

Solar energy is not always a fraud. If you live off the electric grid, and you have a reasonable amount of sunshine, solar power, backed up by batteries, can be a good option for getting a modest amount of electricity. It will not be cheap electricity. Solar is good for powering equipment in remote locations. It is excellent for powering spacecraft. It is good for direct heating of swimming pools. Passive solar in the form of buildings designed to utilize sunshine for warmth and light can save energy. But, do not think that it is advisable to put solar electricity...

California is the poster child for solar energy: in 2016, 13% of the state's power came from solar sources. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, California is in the lead for the cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed in 2016. In fact, the California is generating so much solar energy that it is resorting to paying other states to take the excess electricity in order to prevent overloading power lines. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arizona residents have already saved millions in 2017 thanks to California’s contribution.

Last year, MIT proudly announced that it was building a solar energy plant in North Carolina that it claimed would benefit both the bay and "tar heel" states. More than half a year later, those benefits are looking ever more theoretical with each passing month. "James McLawhorn, director of the Electrical Division of the Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission, monitors utility company compliance with REPS," Don Carrington reported in the Carolina Journal this month. "McLawhorn confirmed to CJ that electricity from the Summit Farms Solar project doesn’t help North Carolina meet its renewable energy goals." "Nor do counties...

You can’t squeeze blood from a stone, but wringing water from the desert sky is now possible, thanks to a new spongelike device that uses sunlight to suck water vapor from air, even in low humidity. The device can produce nearly 3 liters of water per day, and researchers say future versions will be even better. That means homes in the driest parts of the world could soon have a solar-powered appliance capable of delivering all the water they need, offering relief to billions of people. There are an estimated 13 trillion liters of water floating in the atmosphere...

"The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO) are investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on Mission 4," Capt. Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman, told Space.com via email. "AFRCO will also host a number of advance materials onboard the X-37B for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the durability of various materials in the space environment," Hoyler added ... The Air Force owns two X-37B space planes, both of which were built by Boeing's Phantom Works division. The solar-powered spacecraft are about...

President Donald Trump has disputed climate change, pledged a revival of coal and disparaged wind power, and his nominee to head the Energy Department was once highly skeptical of the agency’s value. What this means for states’ efforts to promote renewable energy is an open question. States that are pushing for greater reliance on wind and solar power are not quite sure what to expect as Trump takes over. Many of them depend heavily on federal renewable-energy tax credits, grants and research, much of which comes from the Energy Department. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Trump’s pick to lead the...

Solar cells made from an inexpensive and increasingly popular material called perovskite can more efficiently turn sunlight into electricity using a new technique to sandwich two types of perovskite into a single photovoltaic cell. Perovskite solar cells are made of a mix of organic molecules and inorganic elements that together capture light and convert it into electricity, just like today’s more common silicon-based solar cells. Perovskite photovoltaic devices, however, can be made more easily and cheaply than silicon and on a flexible rather than rigid substrate. The first perovskite solar cells could go on the market next year, and some...

As part of a broad mission to end extreme poverty worldwide the Obama administration is giving unproven startups millions of dollars to create solar power in Africa. It’s a multi-million-dollar U.S. initiative to inspire entrepreneurs and investors to help bring enough connections so households in sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean, modern and affordable electricity. Uncle Sam will pitch in around $36 million and the money will flow through Power Africa, a program created by President Obama to increase the number of people with access to power in the world’s second-largest continent. More than 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa...

$205 billion of American tax dollars will be used to subsidize extraordinarily expensive solar power panels that are mostly made in China Hillary Clinton announced goals for increasing US reliance on renewable energy, pledging to have more than a billion solar panels installed nationwide within four years of taking office. She also pledged that the US would generate enough clean renewable energy to power every home in the country within 10 years of taking office. (1) Stephen Moore calls this ‘one of her wackiest ideas.’ It would be one of the largest corporate welfare giveaways in American history. The Institute...

While the production will almost certainly improve this summer, “SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Project in Tonopah, Nevada [isn’t even] quietly providing clean, green solar energy to 75,000 homes in the Silver State even when the sun [is] shining”… The average U.S. residential utility customer uses about 900 kWh per month. 75,000 homes * 900 KWh/month = 67,500,000 kWh/month = 67,500 MWh/month In its best month so far, Crescent Dunes generated 9,095 MWh… About 3 hours of electricity per day for 75,000 homes. This is the Venezuela version of 24/7 /SARC.

Misaligned mirrors are being blamed for a fire that broke out yesterday at the world’s largest solar power plant, leaving the high-tech facility crippled for the time being. It sounds like the plant’s workers suffered through a real hellscape, too. A small fire was reported yesterday morning at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California, forcing a temporary shutdown of the facility. It’s now running at a third of its capacity (a second tower is down due to scheduled maintenance), and it’s not immediately clear when the damaged tower will restart. It’s also unclear how the incident will...

CARSON CITY â€” The Nevada Bureau of Consumer Protection on Thursday filed a motion to halt the implementation of a new net metering rate for rooftop-solar customers while petitions seeking reconsideration or clarification of the controversial decision can be filed. The petition filed with the Nevada Public Utilities Commission says that the order approved Tuesday appears to conflict with the desire of Gov. Brian Sandoval to allow the rooftop-solar industry to continue to create jobs while balancing the interests of nonsolar ratepayers. "Major companies in the solar industry have stated the order could result in the loss of jobs numbering...

President Obama once praised it as a shining example of America's clean energy future. "With projects like this one," he said at the site of a solar plant just before construction started, "we're putting Americans to work producing clean, home-grown American energy."

Electrek is reporting that Tesla has signed a lease for the former Solyndra manufacturing site just a few miles away from its assembly plant in Freemont, California. Its current production facility can build up to to 500,000 cars a year, but Elon Musk says Tesla will be building “millions” of cars by 2020. What will it do with the new space? In an e-mail to Business Journal, it said “901 Page, located conveniently down the road from the Tesla Factory, gives us the space to expand our manufacturing and build more engineering labs as we build up production.” There is...

Any time there's an oil spill on the water, the media are filled with photos and videos of crude-soaked birds. The coverage is the cue for the self-appointed environmentalist defenders of wildlife to wring their hands and furrow their brows.